SECRETS OF DRESS. Wealthy Women Who often Pay Their Dressmakers With Jewellery.

Te Aroha News, Volume VIII, Issue 395, 21 August 1889, Page 6

SECRETS OF DRESS. Wealthy Women Who often Pay Their Dressmakers With Jewellery.

Fancy a woman going about in her carriage with two men on the box, a team of blooded horses in harness, a crest on the blinkers, "and not enoughQmbrieyin* her pursds tp*pay Idrmakinlf^hiorni'ng rdre/s.r dre/s. * B A* Walthy poor women— the, irony of it ! ..And yet an uptown' modiste 'declared' to a New York ' World ' reporter that there are plenty of them in society.""* "' "'Only a week ago,' she said, 'I made £ .lace'toUe.b-fqr 1 a customer, 1 and, jwhafc dojyou i think she-piid uo&iwibh*? 1 A< Inake bracelet I The jewel I know must have cost $200, which more than covered the bill, bub I didn't want it ; I preferred to be paid in cash and told her so. r Then she took from her hand a 1 small diamond duster ring and begged me to receipt the bill. Iwas obliged to ad sohas she isan old ' customer. Rich ? The world thinks so. She wears beautiful clothes, always' comes ur a coupe, and I know she has a maid, for 1 have seen her. r • I once made ~a wedding - dress fpr , a fashionable young lady, who agreed beforehand to give me five rings in lieu of, .the money. 1 . ,The jewels were all engagement rings that had been received irom discarded sweethearts', and J which she knew she would never be permitted to wear as the wife of her accepted lover. We had an understanding that she should have the privilege of* payjrfg^theiamount. due, with interest; and getting back the ring's, about which &he had a- woman's sentiment. Well, I kept the jewels two years and cleared $80 on their sale. ' About ten months ago a lady came to meandlefb an order for., three ;toilets. I had never done any, work for her, ( bub she was well recommended arid' I felt ' sur6 she was all right: ' Well,- do you Vnow when I sent home the goodsjshe came backtwith the bill, herself and told me she could not pay it, as her husband in ,a fib of jealousy had stopped her allowance. Her jewels had been pawned for $100, ' bub were -worth $1,200, she thought,' Would I take'- the tickets, redeem them, 'and hold the case for a year 171 7 This was a most astounding form of settlement. I referred it to my attorney, who paid the money on the y loan -and brought me back a leather case' containing an assortment of rings and' bracelefcs^id a set of eaarings. ' That was ' last ¥^?ril, and I haveh't seen or heard of her" since." , * No, I rarely lose anything. 'We '"don't have bad debts, as' tailors do. Women, as a class, are honest. I have been swindled by an adventuress, but my regular customers always pay. •There lives at the Windsor Hotel a wealthy widow who' has been a source of annoyance to every dressmaker she has had any dealings with. The first time I made hera dress I sent it homewith a bill, which she deliberately discounted,' item after item, sending me a cheque for a' third less than the amount due.' On investigation I found that she had pursued this method with modistes, so I bottled up* my indignation and* waited for another order. It came injdue course of time. The material was ,her own. I made -it up and charged the balance due on rthe "first account, and politely withheld delivery until the whole amount was* paid," ,The woman is abundantly able to pay for everything "she'orders arid is in every other particular' a most delightful person, but she has v a m'atiia, for discounting her dresshi'aking'arfd'Tnillinery bills that amodnts fo positive dishdhesty! 'One ' cu^bomerl had 1 wate the wlfe'oi .an old ndiser, who promptly paid herbills but never allowed her any pocket money. Ab her order the bills were made out in pencil, and she would ink them and add 'as much to the'differenb figures as she dar^d. The collector found no difficulty in "getting ' a cheque from ith'e husband, "and the additional sum over the original de.btwe gave to" the moneyless wife of the millionaire. A dressmaker doesn't need to be in business very long before realising that ".all that glitters is nob gold. " '